The Assessment of Adolescents. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

In order to complete its instruments for the comparative evaluation of teaching systems, the OECD has, since 2000, had in place an international programme for the assessment of students, known as PISA. Futuribles devoted an article to the programme in 2002 (no. 279), outlining its methodology and first findings. Since then, other assessments have been carried out as part of the scheme, in 2003 and 2006, and more are already planned for 2009, 2012 and 2015, covering between 40 and 60 countries, depending on the year. Bernard Hugonnier takes another look at PISA, as it presents itself today, showing the importance of the programme and the advantages it offers for public decision-making. After reminding us of the originality of PISA so far as international comparisons are concerned, he provides a detailed account of the assessment methods used and a presentation of the planned future assessment cycles. He also analyses the latest findings of the (2006) PISA surveys and shows the lessons these provide on the level of students and the weaknesses they may reveal in the educational systems of the participating countries. He particularly stresses that good performances do not necessarily reflect economic investment in education, but rather the effectiveness of systems and their capacity to assist and integrate students from humbler backgrounds. Like all instruments of evaluation, this one has its faults. For example, it covers only students aged 15 who are not re-assessed later. It is, nevertheless, an essential tool for education policy and, moreover, one that is proposing to develop and to expand its field of investigation.